Detecting and tracking nearby objects may be useful, particularly for aircraft during ground operations. Ground collisions between aircraft and other objects, such as other aircraft, ground vehicles and structures such as buildings can cause expensive damage and may be dangerous. Aircraft taxiing for takeoff often have full fuel tanks, which may rupture during a collision leading to possible fire or explosion. Some solutions have radar or other sensors placed at the on the aircraft to detect potential obstacles and present information to the pilot on a human-machine interface (e.g., head-up, head-down, or head-mounted display). Having such information available may improve pilot awareness of obstacles and help evaluate if a particular obstacle is a threat. Some systems provide information about only the lateral location of obstacles relative to an aircraft, which may not explicitly address whether the height of the wing, wingtips, or engine nacelle will clear the obstacles. Three-dimensional information about potential dangers may be more valuable than just lateral information. Some systems may be expensive or impossible to install because the system may require expensive rework to run power and signal cables between the sensors and the display unit in the cockpit.
Other systems may include radar sensors mounted on the wingtips that take advantage of existing lighting to ‘see’ through the protective glass that covers the lighting. Non-standard glass material and thickness may cause transmission and accuracy issues for these radar sensors. Also, any modifications to the wings may interfere with deicing systems, moveable wing structures such as Fowler flaps or require cables running near or through fuel tanks, which may be in the wings of many commercial aircraft. Therefore, modifications to the wings may have disadvantages in that modifications may impact safety and aircraft certification. Any collision avoidance system mounted in an aircraft wing may likely be part of the aircraft original design.